To Change the Future, Part I
by Strange Hearts
Summary: When Harry is running from his cousin's gang, he ends up finding himself in a strange area, where he ends up being trapped with three others. The purpose for this? Why, to read several books, of course! This is a character reads story, but with no book text in it.


_**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I just kind of own the story idea behind this.**_

_**This is my without book text character reads story. If the second chapter if this - since the first is simply a prologue - is well received, I will continue it.**_

_**Enjoy the chapter.**_

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**Prologue, Part I**

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The ten year old Harry Potter was in quite a predicament at the moment. Dudley, who had apparent decided that it was time to initiate his favorite game of 'Finding Harry', had also decided to be more determined to catch him, forcing Harry to run pass the invisible line that he usually was able to stop at. It had been quite a surprise for him to, upon passing it, look behind him and see his cousin and gang still chasing him, forestalling him from stopping as he'd been planning on doing.

Turning the corner, he continued to run, purposely being invasive until, finally, upon looking behind himself once again, he saw that they didn't appear to still be chasing him, a fact that proved to be true when, upon slowing, they still hadn't suddenly appeared from behind a corner. He stopped completely, leaning against a wall as he tried to regain his breath, hoping that he wasn't making a mistake in standing still. However, it wasn't long before he realized that he had another problem: he had no idea where he was. All he could see was windowless and doorless walls on either side of him, the long walkway he had come from, and a small square with a single, vacant-looking building. There weren't even any people around. At least, that was what he thought until he bumped into someone.

He spun around, meeting a pair of startled honey brown eyes. It was a girl, one with rather bushy brown hair and a book in her hand. The way one of her fingers kept the book from being completely shut seemed to explain how they had ran into each other; clearly, she had been just as preoccupied while walking as he had been, though he had the feeling that it was by the book as opposed to trying to figure out where they were.

"Sorry," she said, her voice rather bossy sounding. "I wasn't looking where I was going."

"That's –" he started to say, only to have the rumbling sound of thunder overhead interrupt him. Her looked up, surprised to see dark, almost black, storm clouds that looked like they would being to pour any minute were now covering the skies, which had been pretty clear just a few moments ago. Not knowing where he was, the vacant building looked oddly inviting as a shelter from the rain that looked to be coming any minute.

He hurried towards the building, a little surprised when the girl he'd run into followed. He had just gotten to the covered doorway when the clouds opened up with an impressive downpour. Harry knew that they would have been soaked within seconds. The rain was so thick that he knew he didn't have a chance of seeing where he would go. Sighing lightly, he pushed at the door, not expecting it to open. Having put all of his weight on it, he would have fallen to the floor had the girl – whose name, he realized, he hadn't asked – not grabbed him by the back of his shirt.

"Thanks," he muttered.

"No problem," she said, keeping a hold of him until she was sure that he had his balance. He entered the building, moving aside so that she could get in, and closed the door. The building, which he had expected to be cold, was surprisingly warm, with working lights that led further in. Her turned towards the girl.

"Um, I think we'll be here for awhile. Do you think we should…" he trailed off, looking down shyly. He wasn't accustomed to speaking to others his age, save for Dudley; Dudley's influence at the school made sure of that. And there were no girls in Dudley's gang, so he had no experience speaking to them.

"Yeah. I think we should look around. But we should stick together; less chance of getting lost. I'm Hermione by the way, Hermione Granger," she said this rather fast, but Harry was still able to keep up. He took the hand that she had offered, muttering out his own name before they began walking further in.

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They headed back to the first room they had seen – a living room like vision, with two comfy couches on either side of a dark wood table, a couple of other tables baring glass knick-knacks pushed into the corners of the room. When they had gone passed that room, they discovered that most of the other rooms on the first floor were actually inacccessable, the doors blocking them unopenable, save for the kitchen – in fact, they were surprised and more than a little suspicious when they saw that it had several appliances, all of which were working, as well as cupboards filled with canned goods and other non perishables, from what they saw.

Entering the living room area, the two took a seat on both of the couches, sitting opposite of each other. Harry was about to say something when they heard the door they had entered from open once more. Harry and Hermione looked at each other, perplexed and slightly scared, until they heard the voices of whoever it was, which sounded as though they came from kids like them. There were two of them, one male, one female, and, from what Harry heard, it became apparent that the two strangers had the same idea that Harry and Hermione had: getting out of the rain.

They heard whoever the two were walking towards them, and – after a quick glance around showed no place to hide – Harry and Hermione stood up from where they had sat down, and headed for the doorway. They might as well be nice instead of rude.

They were about a foot away from the doorway when their mysterious companions came into view. Both were wet, having been caught in the down pour outside, but both were more dressed for the weather, so the clothes underneath their raincoats were still dry. They were also different from each other, definitely not related to each other, if their looks were of any sign.

The male was obviously older, by about two, three years compared to Harry. He was slightly muscular, not overtly, but with a look of definitely becoming more as the years passed. He had reddish brown hair, darkened by the rain; pale skin, and gray eyes. He was taller than the three, but not overtly tall.

The girl was almost the opposite, looking slightly younger than Harry. She was thin, small, with pale skin, blonde hair, and blue eyes. She was a few inches shorter than Harry.

"Hi," the male said, bringing Harry attention back towards him. "I'm Cedric Diggory and this is Luna Lovegood. Seems we got a bit sidetracked when the rain began, and decided to wait here for it to end. Did you two have the same idea?"

Hermione took charge, speaking before Harry could, which was lucky for him, for his voice seemed to have frozen in his throat

"Hi. It's nice to meet you two. I'm Hermione Granger," she stated, shaking both of their hands. That when Harry finally found his voice.

"We ended up having the same idea you did, only we managed not to get wet," he said, holding out his own hand to shake theirs. "I'm Harry, Harry Potter."

Cedric and Luna gasped as their eyes widened. Both pairs of eyes darted towards his forehead, where the vivid, lightning-shaped scar he'd carried as far as he could remember rested. It seemed to confirm to them that he was who he said he was. Eyes furrowed at them, he went to ask them why they were looking at him so weirdly when Hermione gasped.

Harry turned towards her, wondering what it was that had caused her to gasp as she did. He saw that she wasn't looking at him, but back at the table and couches where they had been sitting a few minutes ago. He looked back there, wondering what it was that had caught her noticed, when he saw what it was.

Seven books, each varying in thickness, were piled on the table that had been empty just moments before. A folded piece of paper rested upon the very top. Curious as to what was going on, Harry walked towards the table, the others following. Once they surrounded the table – Harry and Luna on one side, Cedric and Hermione on the other – Harry reached forward, grabbing the paper and opened it.

Inside, he found himself looking at a letter.

"What does it say, Harry?" Hermione asked, leaning forward. She wasn't looking at him, though, her eyes on the books instead. She couldn't help it: she loved to read. And placing some books that, for all intent and purpose, had just appeared out of nowhere just tempted her even more.

Harry looked at her for a second before returning to the note.

_Dear Mr. Potter, Mr. Diggory, Miss Granger, and Miss Lovegood,_

_Welcome. Before you ask how I know that you are the very four mentioned in the title, I will tell you right now that I made sure to be very specific when it came to what is to happen. This letter and these books would not have appeared if it hadn't been you here, or there had been more people with you. Not that I suspect there to be more people either; I've taken great pains to insure that it was you four._

_I know your probably wondering what is going on. If I'm lucky, at least one among you will realize how these books got here without your notice. If not, then I will explain. I won't tell you who I am, as that would take too long. However, I will inform you what I used in order to not only get the books and this letter to you. I used magic. It's as simple as that._

_Now, for the whole purpose of this note and the books is for information. All seven books are what's going to happen in your future, Mr. Potter. The other three who are with you are also mentioned in them, but you are – for lack of better term – the main character. Only one of the three characters in mentioned as much as you are. Another isn't mentioned until the fifth book, after which they stay until the end, and the fourth is only mentioned in the third and mentioned quite a bit in the fourth. Though it is against the rules to do this, I've made sure that the future won't be worse than it already is._

_I did this for several reasons. One, to inform you of what will happen to you for the next seven years. Two, to save the life of one of you. And three, possibly the most important reason, to help you escape the miserable lives you will end up with should some of this come to fruitation. Just because you might seem happy in them, you must realize that not every event is told in the books._

_Anyways, I must also inform you that, until you've read all of the books, the rain outside will not stop, nor will you really be able to leave the building. I've made sure that there is plenty of food there, as well as something to drink. And you won't have to worry about what will happen if it takes you awhile to get through all of the books. I won't tell you the exact reason why, but I will say that magic does help._

_If you don't believe me upon this, wait awhile, you'll realize that I'm telling the truth. Also, there is something else that I must say. No matter what you read, please do not get overly upset. You may end up reading something unpleasant, and I while I can understand if you become upset, please note that I am giving you a chance to change that._

_The books are in the order in which they are to be read. Do not try to read them out of order, as you will not be able to._

_With best wishes,_

_T. C. H._

Harry finished reading, setting the letter down. All around them was silent. Then, Cedric broke the silence.

"I think we should read the books. Obviously, if what this person says is true, we won't be able to leave until we do," he stated. Hermione, who had looked like she was about to say something, was interrupted by Harry, who said, "But it can't be true. Magic doesn't exist. There's no way these books are from the future."

Both Cedric and Luna looked at him, slightly stunned to having hear him of all people say that. After all, with everything they'd heard about him, it didn't seem to fit for him o doubt magic's existence as he clearly was. However, it seemed that, despite what they'd heard about him, he was indeed doubting. After a few tense moments, Luna spoke.

"Magic exist. My parents, as well as Cedric's, are wizards. Your mother and father were as well, Harry," she stated, her voice dreamy sounding. Harry stared at her, about to say that she was wrong, that it wasn't true, when Hermione finally spoke.

"Whether it's true or not, I agree with Cedric. I don't really feel like testing to see if it is true. Plus, it does explain how it was suddenly raining when it was a rather clear day today, how we all ended up here, when I doubt we were really anywhere nearby, and how the books ended up here." She bit her lip at the last part before she continued. "It would also explain some of the supposedly impossible things I've been able to do."

Once she finished, and in order to get the others from looking at her and asking what she meant, she reached for the first book. "I'll start."

With that, she opened the book to the title page.

"This book is called **Harry Potter: Year I**. Interesting title."

She turned the page.

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_**And that's it for this chapter. Again, the reception for the next chapter will be what decides if I continue it.**_

_**Please Review for this chapter, though, since I do kind of what to know what you think of it.**_

_**Strange Hearts**_


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